04 October 2014

I love hummus. It's perfect for as easy light lunch and for an evening snack with a glass of wine. Remember last month when I shared my recipe for Pizza Hummus? I had to buy tahini for it, and if you've ever bought tahini, you know that it comes in a large jar. Very large. And most hummus recipes call for only 1/4 cup of it. Since the jar is kinda pricey, I decided that I was going be diligent about using up that jar! So I started pinning unique hummus recipes to my Dips and Party Foods board on Pinterest. One that I came across was this one from The Healthy Maven. I couldn't wait to try it. I adapted it slightly; here's my version.

Roasted Butternut Squash Hummus

Ingredients:

2 lb. butternut squash

2 tsp + 2 tbsp olive oil

1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 tbsp tahini

1 tsp lemon juice

2-4 tbsp water

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp smoked paprika

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°. Cut butternut squash in half, lengthwise. Scrape out seeds and rub cut sides with 1 tsp olive oil each. Place squash halves cut sides down in a baking dish. Roast for about 45 minutes, or until flesh is completely soft. Remove from oven, flip squash over, and let cool.

When cool, remove 1½ cups of squash from the skins. In a food processor, blend together the squash, chickpeas, tahini, remaining 2 tbsp olive oil, lemon juice, 2 tbsp water, salt, and smoked paprika. If it is too thick, add another 2 tbsp water and pulse again.

Place in serving dish and garnish with an additional drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of smoked paprika, if desired.

Makes about 3 cups.

Oh man, this hummus is amazing! I love the slight sweetness from the squash. The smokiness from the paprika brings it out even more. Please do not settle for just any paprika when making this; you really need the smoked kind. Usually I add more than a recipe calls for, but in this case, it was just perfect.

My husband and I ate this with pita chips, but it would be awesome with anything: chips, crackers, and especially your favorite cut-up veggies.

This is the perfect dish to take to all of those great fall get-togethers you are invited to.

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